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U.S. pay-TV on-demand services boosted by stay-at-home directives

TDG: Use of Pay-TV On-Demand Fueled by COVID-19 Stay-at-Home Directives

60% of MVPD on-demand viewers report significant increases in use

LOS ANGELES — According to new research from The Diffusion Group (TDG), six in ten U.S adult broadband users who use pay-TV on-demand services have increased viewing as a result of COVID-19-related stay-at-home directives, with 19% reporting a significant increase.

“Much has been written about recent spikes in the use of on-demand streaming video services such as Netflix and Disney+, and for good reason,” notes Michael Greeson, TDG president and principal analyst. “Our findings clearly demonstrate that, being largely confined to their homes, consumers see tremendous value in having access to on-demand shows and movies. And this holds true for all such services, including those offered by pay-TV providers.”

According to TDG’s new research, 77% of adult broadband users that subscribe to a pay-TV service watch shows and movies via the service’s on-demand feature; of those, 60% report spending more time watching on-demand programming as a consequence of having to stay at home due to local, state, or national directives related to COVID-19.

TDG also found that:

On-demand viewers under the age of 45 were almost twice as likely as those 45 and older to have significantly increased on-demand use (23% vs. 13% respectively);

21% of those using virtual pay-TV on-demand report significant increases in viewing, a bit higher than their cable and fiber pay-TV counterparts at 19%. Satellite on-demand viewers lag in this respect, with only 13% reporting significant increases;

23% of pay-TV on-demand users in the Western U.S. report a significant increase in use, compared with 19% of those in the Northeast, 18% of those in the South, and 16% of those in the Midwest; and

Female pay-TV on-demand viewers were as likely as their male counterparts to have significantly increased on-demand viewing under stay-at-home directives.

In late April 2020, TDG surveyed 1,997 U.S. adults with a broadband data service in the home about their TV and video behaviors. The resulting Quantum Media Behaviors study provides a timely analysis of the pandemic’s impact on media usage, particularly among legacy and virtual pay-TV users, and their counterparts (i.e., Cord Cutters and Nevers).